Save for the savvy club hoppers, chances are most Napans havn't heard Atomic Jones.

No, Atomic Jones is not some whacked-out superjock energized by radioactive fallout, but rather an energetic quartet of twenty- and thirty- somethings bent on imflaming phlegmatic music lovers with its particular brand of "power pop."

Launched two years ago this month, Atomic Jones is the artistic expression of four earnest Napans - group cofounders Paul Bertolino, who writes all the band's original music and provides lead vocals and guitar riffs; Brent Ratkovich, lead guitarist; and Nate Alfaro, bassist and backup vocalist; and the newest member, powerhouse drummer Mitch Norwick.

Atomic Jones is a product of the times - they chew up pop culture and spit out a clever take on the maelstorm swirling about them.

The majority are late bloomers who didn't take to a musical lifestyle until the sheepskins had been tucked into one dresser drawer or another.

However, in their post-high school days, Paul, Brent and Nate have knocked about in various Napa Valley-based combos for a decade or so - groups with names like Big Naw and Panty Raid. They trace the start of Atomic Jones, actually to which they contributed varying talents - The Impossibles.

Both Paul and Brent admit to being "bedroom guitarists" prior to high school graduation.

Paul plays the guitar because it's a tool that assists him in his songwriting efforts. "Some people get into music because they like a particular instrument," the lanky 28-year-old says. "But I like songs - I like to write - and so it becomes a tool to that end. It's like using a hammer to fix a car. You're not really into the hammer but it can help you fix things. I guess hammer's not the right tool, though, is it when it comes to car repair?"

Brent, also 28, was born in Las Vegas and came to the Napa Valley at age 13 when his father accepted a Bay Area job.

Although he dabbled in acoustic guitar as a high school freshman, he says he wasn't serious about the instrument until his sophmore year. "I was attracted to the guitar because of the style of music we were listening to at that point - it was guitar-driven, mostly heavy metal."

Brent met Paul when he enrolled in eigth grade at Redwood Middle School and was quickly accepted by Paul's circle of friends. "We discovered we liked alot of the same things, including music," he adds.

A Napa native, Paul says he was "listening to the Beatles before I could walk. When parents whip out baby pictures, the kids are usually holding toys. I was carrying records around. No one else in my family is a musician, but they all liked music, and I was exposed to it at an early age. I had a lot of aunts and uncles who were teenagers at the time, and they were playing music for me."

Paul admits his start at writing songs weren't well received. "I didn't do a good job," the lanky rocker candidly admits.

Nate teamed up with Paul and Brent in one of the early bands. "I liked Paul's taste in music and started hanging around with him," he recounts. "An open mike night at the (now defunct) Soda Hole in 1993 spawned what we're doing today."

Besides music, Nate and Paul share another passion. They both collect pop culture memorabillia of every imaginable kind - posters, lunch boxes, dolls and so on.

Born in Oakland, Nate recalls coming through Napa with his parents enroute to a summer resort on Cobb Mountain. "We used to stop at Big D Burgers," he quickly adds, as some sort of culinary badge of courage. He also relocated to wine country when a change of jobs brought his parents to Napa.

Also a Napa native, Mitch says he and Nate grew up in the same neighborhood.

"But I ran around with his brother because Mitch was older," Nate notes. "I remember Mitch dressed well but his taste in music was odd - he liked Rod Stewart. And all the girls liked him..."

"... so he developed a lust for me as well." Mitch interjects with a cocky grin.

"He was a drummer and I liked what he did," Nate continues, ignoring his friend's remark, "and always wanted him to be part of a band I was in."

Mitch vividly recalls the first conversation he ever had about playing drums. "My dad told me he was going to learn to play the bagpipes and wanted to know if I'd like play the drums," the 32-year-old musician says. "I played in a bagpipe band on and off for nearly 10 years. But I didn't start playing a drum kit until I was out of high school."

Mitch teamed up with fellow Napa musician Cory Van Winden as a member of a bar band, the Waywards, for about two years. Next he joined Love Nest, a San Francisco-based pop band that played a number of Bay Area clubs and show venues, eventually recording a compact disc for A&M Records.

"I came back to Napa in 1995 and didn't play any music for a while," he adds, "not until I was invited to join Atomic Jones."